Red Velvet Cupcakes

For this first post I decided that simply because the name of my blog is what it is, its only fitting that the first post be cupcakes. That's when I got a call to make cupcakes for a friends baby shower. So I scoured the internet to find a recipe and found the perfect one. 

These are not just any cupcakes mind you, they are one of the most moist, delicious cupcakes I have had in a very, very long time. Red Velvet. I am sure everybody has had red velvet before but I had never been so lucky. So after searching high and low, after looking at all of the reviews on several different sites I found it. I also read along the way that the perfect frosting to go with red velvet cake is cream cheese. So that recipe follows the cupcake recipe. These are a perfect dessert. Who doesn't love cupcakes?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe Source: bestcupcakerecipes.blogspot.com

2 1/2 cups sifted Cake Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 oz. Red Food Coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp Vinegar
1 tsp Baking Soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don't do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a 2/3 full. I ended up with 17 cupcakes. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and it comes out clean!

5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup Butter

8 oz Cream Cheese, Softened

3 cups Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

All of the ingredients need to be at room temperature. In a mixing bowl, mix butter on medium speed until light and creamy. Add cream cheese and mix until fluffy. Slowly add the sugar one cup at a time. Finally add the vanilla and mix until creamy.